Whittemore fights prison order

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Lawyers for former Nevada developer and political power broker Harvey Whittemore are asking a federal appeals court to allow him to stay out of prison until his appeal is decided.

U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks of Reno has ordered Whittemore to surrender to a federal prison on Aug. 6 to begin serving his two-year sentence for making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

But in the motion, filed late Thursday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, his lawyers said Whittemore should be allowed to remain out of prison on bail while his appeal is considered.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports the Nevada U.S. Attorney's office did not file an immediate response.